Runnning Hurts

So I'm training for the Des Moines Marathon in October, and I need to get my weight down. I received further confirmation of this today. I was supposed to do a 3-mile training run (as a SHORT workout, for crying out loud), and had to cut it down to a walk and cut it to about a mile and a half, instead.

My left knee felt like someone had left a thumbtack lodged beneath the kneecap on the outside. So there will be conspicuous use of frozen gel packs and ibuprofen in my near future.

But I can completely understand why people would love this activity. Like cycling, there's a rhythm about running when you're doing it well that gives you a sense of peace and helps calm you. But unlike cycling, this stuff really hurts when you're overweight. I don't mean the burning lungs, screaming thighs and stinging eyes. I'm talking about visceral pain of pounding on the pavement for a long time.

I think I'm convincing myself this will be my one and only marathon. If I live that long.

And if anybody has a wheelbarrow, you might want to bring it to the finish line--I'll probably need something to cart myself away at the end.

What's This "Blogging" Thing, Again?

Been a long time since I posted anything on this site. In simple terms, I let it slide because other things held my interest in the meantime. I also have been very busy trying to get my life in order. So for both of my readers, here's the update:

The last 4 months have been a kind of personal cleansing for me. I have completed the first 12 weeks of a 30-week marathon training program, which included a 10 kilometer/6.2 mile run yesterday. I actually did 12k/7.5 miles, and my knees are letting me know their displeasure. But I'll heal them and carry on. The IMT Des Moines Marathon is in October, 4 days after I turn 40, and if Steve deOssie could do it, so can I.

I really need to get back on the nutrition program, though. I haven't tracked what I eat in a while, and I'm not losing weight anymore. I am certain there's a direct link between those two. And I need to be a lot lighter because I feel I'll damage myself doing a marathon.

But I feel obligated to go for it at this point. I've had too many people tell me they feel inspired by what I'm doing and are using my example to kick-start their own lives again. And I think to people like Matty Long of the FDNY, who survived a horrific bus-on-bicycle accident to run the NYC Marathon. Compared to people like him, I have no excuses.

So I'll soldier on, and I'll still be riding my bike in the meantime. More to come soon.